Several years ago (I forget how many because between the PCS's and the deployments....I just know where I was. Not when.), my friend Starlett asked me to start reading books with her. To feel connected across the miles.

We did. And we loved it.

In fact, we loved it so much that HWHV Book Club was born. In that space, people from all over the world connected, month after month, and we read. Learned. Laughed. Cried. And, honestly, I believe we changed and evolved for the better.

I believe in books and what they can do. How they can unite, teach, transcend, comfort, connect, challenge. How they show up on a rainy day to be a companion in the dark. Or how they can move seamlessly throughout your life…stepping back in just when you need them most.

I also believe in their ability to unite a group of people.

May 2018 was our last read together as that smaller group. And while it was bittersweet to close it, I also know that those connections will forever be there. And they will constantly rotate around a love for reading.

And I also know my love for reading will be here, on this page, inviting all into the world of connection through words.

When I look back at this list, I am impressed with what we did, and honestly, I am hopeful for what is to come, too.

Feel free to browse through this list. Print it. Read from it. Check them off one by one and take notes.

And by all means, come chat with me about them. Nothing lights me up more than a good ole' book chat. :)~Melissa

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Melissa Seligman

MY STORY

​Before I was an army wife, or even a mother, I was Melissa. Strong and independent. I put myself through college, earning a B.A. in English, then a Master’s in Education. When my husband first entered the Army, pieces of me began to fall by the wayside until I wasn’t sure who I was anymore. Years of war, parenting by myself, and trying to remain c​lose with a husband who was rarely there, wore on me. It was a slow process to try to find my voice. But, one step toward my friend, Christina Piper--one pleading sentence of understanding--began the fire that ignited Her War, Her Voice. Now, I stand proudly with him. But not as a wife who must always be on display. I am, first and foremost, still Melissa. I have a voice. I have talent. And I have the ability to ensure I never lose these aspects of myself again. Multiple deployments and constant separations have nearly broken me and my relationship. Our marriage has been pushed to the brink of divorce. But, yet, we thrive. After many struggles, I have finally realized: We are in charge of our marriage and I am in charge of who I am. Not the military. And certainly not a deployment. I have two children, a daughter and a son. I am still strong, still independent. Only now, all that falls under two words: military wife. As the co-founder of Her War, Her Voice, it has become my mission and my passion to ensure no military spouse ever feels alone or without her voice again. To Contact Melissa, email: melissa@herwarhervoice.com.